Cleveland neighbors want fix to months-long water leak

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - A water leak bubbling up into a Cleveland street is causing cars to get stuck in the winter time and leaving a mess behind in the summer time.

Neighbors have made plenty of calls, but no one’s taking responsibility for it.

That’s why they called the 19 Troubleshooters.

Neighbors on West 100 Street have grown used to the sound of water trickling into their storm drain.

It hasn’t rained in more than a week, but for the last six months, this water line has been flooding into the street.

“Wondering why the water hasn’t gone away,” said Neighbor Dave Thompson. “It’s still here.”

For Dave Thompson, a neighbor who lives two doors down, this has been a constant annoyance.

He says the stream of water carries debris and blocks the storm sewer, and in the winter, a car parked in the street got stuck in the ice and had to towed away.

So he called the water department, more than once, and was told the leak is the homeowner’s responsibility.

“Wouldn’t this be the water department’s problem if it’s at the street?” asked Thompson. “It’s not running through the homeowner’s meter, so how can they justify it’s the homeowner’s responsibility?”

Sick of waiting for a fix, he called the 19 Troubleshooters.

We started with the home the leak was coming from.

The tenant got us in touch with her landlord. He told us he brought in a plumber to inspect the leak and they determined it was up to the city to fix it.

So we tried them next.

The water department referred us to the city and we’re still waiting to hear back.

A frustrating day trying to clear up a blaming game, and while we haven’t gotten an answer, we won’t stop trying until someone takes responsibility.

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